The present invention relates generally to road milling machines and especially to methods for replacing milling drums on road milling machines. Road milling machines typically comprise a vehicle body, self propelling mechanisms, and a rotary drum with a plurality of picks for degrading road surfaces. The rotary drum may be held within a drum housing that is secured to the underside of the vehicle body.
During milling operations, picks may wear or break requiring maintenance of the drum before a job's completion. Such repairs delay projects and reduce profitability. The prior art has address mechanisms to quickly repair a damaged drum.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,789 to Murray, which is herein incorporated by reference for all that it contains, discloses a modification of a cold milling machine used to remove concrete and asphalt from an existing highway including a milling drum segmented into two or more sections with the drive train for the milling drums passing through the core of the milling drum and supported via a journal or bearing to the outside of the machine. The width of the milling drum can be varied by replacing one section of drum with a segmented drum that is either wider or narrower. The sections of the milling drum can be added by bolting segments of the drum onto a driven sleeve which telescopes over the drive shaft of the machine. The segments of the milling drum can be readily removed by loosening a few bolts, and removing the segments without having to slide a milling drum segment off of either end of a drive shaft.